MEGA Art Fair takes over former Milan perfume factory with hybrid exhibition format

From 15 to 25 April 2026, MEGA Art Fair returns to Milan for its third edition, occupying Spazio Profumo, a former perfume factory in the Navigli district. Positioned between Milano Art Week and Design Week, the fair unfolds across ten days as an evolving platform rather than a static exhibition.

Founded in 2023 by BeAdvisors Art Department and Mattia Pozzoni Art Advisory, MEGA has consistently resisted the conventions of the traditional art fair. Instead of isolating galleries within booths, it constructs a collective environment where artworks, curatorial narratives, and public programs coexist. The result is a spatial and intellectual framework that privileges dialogue over display, and exchange over transaction.

The project’s guiding ambition lies in its name. “More Mega” signals not scale, but density. More voices, more interpretations, more connections. Each edition builds upon this premise, transforming industrial or architectural sites into temporary cultural infrastructures that are both site specific and socially embedded.

The 2026 edition is anchored within Spazio Profumo, a 1950s factory that retains the raw qualities of Milanese industrial architecture. Large halls punctuated by columns and original details provide a neutral yet textured backdrop for the exhibition. An expansive outdoor area extends the experience into a social landscape, where gathering, circulation, and informal encounters become integral to the fair.

This spatial condition is not incidental. MEGA’s curatorial strategy is deeply tied to the activation of existing urban structures. By inhabiting spaces marked by production and transformation, the fair establishes a direct dialogue with the city’s material and cultural history.

At the core of MEGA is its Main Section, where 31 exhibitors from Europe, Latin America, and Asia present works within a shared layout. This approach dissolves the boundaries between galleries and disciplines, encouraging unexpected juxtapositions and new forms of engagement.

The fair extends into multiple curatorial layers. The section City of Glass, inspired by Paul Auster’s novel, interprets the city as a shifting system of identities and narratives. Here, works from public and private collections are brought into conversation with contemporary practices, producing a porous and multi layered exhibition.

A dedicated Video Programme introduces time based works into the spatial logic of the fair, expanding its temporal dimension. Meanwhile, collaborations with initiatives such as Harlesden High Street introduce research driven practices that further complicate the reading of the exhibition.

MEGA’s identity is inseparable from its public program. Talks, performances, screenings, workshops, and editorial initiatives unfold throughout the duration of the fair, transforming it into a continuous field of activity.

The Book and Magazines Corner foregrounds independent publishing, while a series of evening events extends the fair into the night. Among these, the Supper Club curated by 926dot1 reinterprets the history of the former perfume factory through taste, constructing a sensory experience that bridges gastronomy and memory.

This layering of activities positions MEGA not simply as an exhibition platform, but as a temporary social infrastructure. It is a place where artistic production intersects with education, collecting, and conviviality.

MEGA’s ecosystem is reinforced by a network of institutional collaborations, including foundations, collections, and cultural organizations. Awards such as the Because of Many Suns Acquisition Prize and the Premio Collezione Edoardo Barboni underline its commitment to supporting emerging artists.

At the same time, the fair engages with broader questions of cultural production. Through mentoring sessions, collector programs, and curated discussions, it opens access to the mechanisms of the art world, inviting new audiences into its processes.

In this sense, MEGA operates less as a market and more as a mediator. It constructs relationships between artists, curators, institutions, and publics, proposing a model of the fair as an active cultural agent rather than a passive container.

Event: MEGA Art Fair 2026
Location: Spazio Profumo, Via Ambrogio Binda 29, Milan, Italy
Dates: 15 – 25 April 2026
Curatorial Direction: Marta Orsola Sironi
Organising Entities: BeAdvisors Art Department, Mattia Pozzoni Art Advisory